NCIS: LA - SAVING KENSI - Rewritten
by ashmagic17
Summary: A different ending to The Debt episode in season 3...
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone,

This is a new version of my other story - Saving Kensi which I am still working on.

Hopefully you enjoy it. I am grateful for all reviews and suggestions of my _Saving Kensi_ original version. I tried to make this one more realistic and have kept in mind all review suggestions from the original fic so please let me know if you have any other ideas. I love hearing what you guys think.

Some _ **DENSI** _ in this one in the next chapter! Looking forward to write that.

 _ **PLEASE NOTE**_

 **SPOILERS** for episode 'The Debt' in season 3.

 **Rated M+** \- watch the episode before reading!

 _Kind regards._

...

CHAPTER ONE

Kensi slipped into the backseat of Deeks's car quietly. He didn't seem too surprised to see her given that Callen and Sam were somewhere in the area and she was obviously going to be with them anyway. He had been half expecting her to show up sooner or later, although he wasn't sure she would want to see him so soon after what he'd done to her earlier that day.

It was evident that she was still pissed at the team and her partner for keeping her in the dark about the case they were working but she'd decided to keep her emotions in check until the case was over. Then she could go home, lock her door and do whatever the hell made her feel better – that being beer or a hot bath… maybe both.

Deeks studied her for only a second before he spoke, "has anyone ever told you how cute you look when you're homicidally angry?"

"I'm not angry," she replied calmly, meeting his eyes in the rear-view mirror as he watched her. "In fact I could slit your jugular vein eleven different ways from where I'm sitting and I wouldn't lose my temper."

"Alright," Deeks wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that so he simply nodded and went on to apologise. "I'm sorry that I had to lie to you. I thought I was protecting you,"

"Protecting me?"

"Us… I was protecting us,"

"Us?" Kensi asked coolly.

"Our ... our thing." Deeks stuttered uncomfortably.

"Whoa, so there is a thing?"

Deeks lowered his gaze and slightly shook his head in confusion.

 _'Did I really just say that?'_ He thought in a bit of shock. He tried to say something but found no words would come out so instead he took a deep breath and met her eyes again,

"Can we not talk about this right now?" He asked awkwardly, "Maybe we could do it over drinks or something?"

"No I have plans,"

"Well maybe I could…"

"I have plans every night, for the rest of my life!" Kensi stated boldly, glancing out her window.

 _Maybe she shouldn't have done this. Maybe she should've stayed in the car with Callan and Sam. Maybe she was overthinking this whole damn thing!_

This case had shaken her to the core. She felt lost and hurt and angry all at once. Her team, the people who meant the most to her in the world, had lied to her! She felt cheated and frustrated. She forced herself to focus on the case, swallowing her feelings and once again clearing her face of all emotion.

No one was going to see her weak. No one was going to see _Kensi Blye_ cry. Not today. Not because of this case. _Not because of Deeks_.

"What the hell is Bates doing?" Deeks wondered aloud, interrupting her thoughts and bringing her back to the case.

"Isn't he leading the raid?" Kensi pondered frowning.

She quickly moved from the backseat to the front passenger seat, climbing through the middle of the car and learning against Deeks's seat to steady herself. For a split second her chest was only millimetres from Deeks's face and he tried not to show his excitement.

" _Ok that just happened_ ," he whispered turning his eyes back to his boss's car parked a few feet in front of them. He handed Kensi a photo showing a guy wearing a black leather jacket and a baseball cap with his back to the camera. The same jacket and cap that his boss had just put on before getting into his car.

Kensi raised her eyebrows, "and you think this is Bates?"

"Bates really is the mole," Deeks nodded feeling both sad that his boss has betrayed him and relieved because the case was almost over.

Kensi glanced at her partner with sad eyes. As much as she wanted to thump him one right there and then, she also couldn't shake the feeling of compassion that welled up inside her for Deeks. It mustn't have been easy for him to watch someone he knew turn on him like that.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had reached over and placed her hand on his knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

He turned to her confused and she quickly withdrew her hand, looking down at the floor instead of meeting his eyes.

"I'm sorry Bates is the mole," she said quietly.

Deeks half smiled at her, "thanks."

He was about to take her hand in his and pull her in for a hug when his phone started to vibrate in his pocket. He shifted in his seat to get to it and answered, putting it on loud speaker so Kensi could hear the conversation too.

"What's up, Quin?"

"You got eyes on Bates?" Quin asked on the other end of the phone, getting straight to business.

"Yes... Yes I do."

"Great. I tapped his phone, he just got a call from Fisks's lawyer and they're about to meet at a red van outside an abandoned warehouse on Market street… Stay close to him. Don't let him out of your sight! We'll need your testimony to take him down. I'll meet you there shortly to back you up when we arrest him."

"What about the raid on Fisk?"

"What raid?"

"Never mind. I'll tail Bates, see you in a bit." Deeks stated hesitantly.

Something about this meeting was setting alarm bells off in his head. He thought it was because he was about to arrest his boss which in any good cops mind would understandably be difficult.

Still he couldn't shake the uneasiness rapidly settling in his gut. He couldn't remember ever being _this_ tense about a case before. Sure he had been in more dangerous and potentially deadly situations than he could count but this case just felt wrong in so many ways!

He was about to hang up the phone when Quin stopped him,

"Oh and one more thing Deeks,"

"Yeah,"

"Tell your pretty girlfriend to stay out of your business. We don't need her messing this up. We need this arrest to go smoothly and she'd just get in the way,"

Deeks's eyes widened and Kensi started searching the area for anything that could be deemed suspicious. They were looking for someone watching them, either from a car or a bystander. But there was no one around.

"Don't bother looking for me, I have you on the security camera across the street. No need to be alarmed, I'm just trying to do my job and make sure you do yours too." Quin explained quickly. "I will be there soon."

"Got it," Deeks replied. He pressed the ' _end call_ ' button on his mobile and put it down in the centre console. Kensi was looking at him worriedly. She didn't like this either, he could see the nervousness on her face.

"It's ok. I can handle this one," Deeks told her with as much confidence as he could muster. "It'll be over before you know it and then we can go grab a beer because I'm sorry but your plans are going to have to wait tonight. I need to be with you for a while, talk to you."

She nodded, "ok but I still don't feel right sending you in on your own."

Before they could finish their conversation Bates pulled out of his parking spot and started driving down the street. Deeks started his engine and followed him, leaving a small distance between them so Bates wouldn't know he was being tailed.

"Guys, I'm with Deeks. Fisks lawyer just gave Bates the meeting place. We're going in after him," Kensi informed Callen and Sam through her earpiece.

"Ok we're going to stay in position to take down Fisk. You guys handle Bates," Callen's voice replied in her ear. "Sam says you've got this."

"Yeah well Sam is always right," Kensi smiled briefly.

She heard Sam laughing and Callen snort over the coms.

"I told you she was my favourite agent," Sam chuckled just loud enough for her to hear. Callen quickly shot back, "She was my favourite first."

"Ok guys seriously, don't make me come over there!" Kensi warned playfully. "Cause if I have to come over there I'll kick both of your asses and you know I can."

She was feeling a little bit better having the guys fighting over her, but she knew they were only trying to cheer her up. An attempt at being forgiven and moving on from the whole drama of the mornings events. She took the bait for now, allowing herself to laugh just a bit.

"Never doubted your strength Kens," Callen countered smiling before adding in a more serious tone, "good luck Kensi."

With that they both turned their earwigs to mute. Kensi could only imagine the conversation going on in their car for the afternoon. Sam would be giving Callen hell over her comment all day, probably tomorrow too.

Deeks threw her a sideways glance as he drove, "what was that all about?"

Kensi had forgotten he didn't have his earpiece in, "oh just letting them know the plan."

"Sounded more … interesting than that," he raised an eyebrow, amused. He hadn't missed her smile or her laugh while she was _'letting them know the plan'._

"I'll tell you later," she lied. "Bates is turning into that lot."

Deeks refocused on the road and pulled into the abandoned carpark his boss had disappeared into.

"Game time," he said, checking his gun was loaded and he had everything he needed.

"I can't just sit here," Kensi replied.

Deeks ran his hand over his stubbled chin and peered around the car, "I need someone to check the perimeter. Want to do that?"

"Beats sitting here," Kensi agreed, loading her gun. "If you need me just call."

"Ok," he nodded, watching her get out of the car and start cautiously moving towards the wire fence surrounding the lot.

The yard was full of abandoned trucks, cars and machinery. There were a lot of places someone could hide if they didn't want to be found. It was also a great place for someone to ambush you. Kensi would make sure he was at least safe from that aspect for which he was grateful because he was nervous enough as it was.

"I'm going to get closer to Bates and the lawyer, try to hear what they're saying until Quin gets here." Deeks crept forward a few steps. "Kensi,"

She stopped and looked back at him,

"Be careful yeah," he said before disappearing from her sight. She nodded and ducked her head, continuing to move towards the first place someone could be hiding. It was a heap of metal sheets stacked up on top of each other which made a shelter like cubby underneath. It was also behind a car that didn't quite look like it belonged in a beat up, empty yard like this one.

She kept her eyes on it, getting closer and closer until she was beside the car. She quickly secured the shelter before paying more attention to the car. Inspecting it more thoroughly, she found it didn't appear damaged as far as she could tell. The outside looked almost new. It had no marks. Not even a scratch.

Maybe this car belonged to the lawyer, but why would he park it here when the meeting was on the other side of the lot?

Kensi pulled the side front door handle and to her surprise and _a little bit of disappointment_ , it opened. _Damn she was in the mood to break into a car_!

She started going through the contents of the vehicle. Papers scattered on the floor, coins in the ashtray ( _pretty normal so far_ ), an empty coffee cup that reeked to high heaven ' _God how long has that been in here?_ ' She thought. A half-eaten chicken and cheese sandwich, heaps of takeaway containers ( _new and old_ ), a pair of old boots with dry mud covering the bottoms, some receipts from a local café and other small coffee shops, a black leather jacket sitting on the backseat, a pair of dark leather gloves and a black baseball cap!

 _'Shit Shit Shit!'_ She felt her stomach churn as she walked around to the driver's side. She almost couldn't bring herself to pop the trunk in fear of what else she was going to find in this _full of shit_ car.

When she heard the boot open she was half expecting the car to blow up… but it didn't. Although what she found inside more than justified her initial fear of setting off a bomb! A whole lot of packaged explosive material stacked up in the boot could result in a pretty loud _boom_!

Whoever owned this car was obviously not looking to make friends. He meant business and to her horror there looked to be some explosives already missing! Where the rest of the packages were lined up neatly, there was a space on top where at least two had been removed. She didn't want to think about what this guy might be planning to use them for.

Kensi grabbed her phone out of her pocket and took a photo of the number plate to send to Eric. It sent automatically and a few seconds later he was calling her.

"Yeah Eric,"

"I am running that plate through the system again," Eric stated quickly.

"Again?" Kensi prompted impatiently. "Do you have a name?"

"Yes." Eric responded quietly, "that plate is registered to a Detective Quin, Internal Affairs. Blue Sedan."

" **Crap!** Thanks Eric," Kensi hung up and hurried to get Deeks's number up on the screen. When it came up she pressed _'call'._

Her hands began to shake as she waited for her partner to pick up. When her call went to voicemail she tried again… _And again and again_ …

"Come on Deeks!" She yelled desperately at the device, "Answer your bloody phone!"

She had to tell him that Bates wasn't the mole! Quin was the mole and the van they were meeting in front of was going to explode! She'd figured this out as soon as Eric had told her about the registration. She understood why Quin had told her to stay away, he hadn't wanted to kill her in the explosion but he did want to kill Deeks and Bates and of that she was certain!

She turned her earwig on again, "Callen, Quin is the mole! Not Bates. The car Deeks is standing in front of is going to explode! I found Quin's car full of explosives… I can't reach Deeks! I'm heading back to him now but I'm on foot. You have to warn him!"

" **Whoa** Kensi, slow down!" Callen tried to understand what his junior agent was shouting at him.

Her voice was beyond frantic and she was speaking really fast. She was also panting, like she was running. And that she was. Running as fast as she could towards where her partner and Bates were standing, directly in harm's way. The bomb could go off at any moment. She had to get to him in time, she would do anything to get to him in time.

"Kensi, tell me again!"

She took another breath, "Quin is the mole! There is a BOMB in the car where Deeks is standing! You have t…." her voice suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

"Kensi… Kens?" Callen cried on the other end of the line. "Kensi are you there?"

…

Kensi hit the ground with a loud, painful **_thud_**.

She looked up, trying to figure out what happened. It felt like she was underwater and everything was moving in slow motion. She could hear distant voices in her ears but couldn't work out what they were saying. Her vision was blurred and her eyes unfocused.

Her hand came up to gently touch her throbbing forehead and winced when she made contact with the decent sized bump forming there. She felt blood run down the left side of her face and saw a few droplets of red splatter on the dirt below her.

She glanced around and groaned loudly as her head began to spin. She removed her hand from her head to try and steady herself on the ground, even though she wasn't moving.

Taking deep, shaky breaths of air seemed to ease her nausea a little and she was grateful when her vision started coming back.

"Callen?" she whispered desperately hoping her earpiece hadn't been damaged and she could still contact her team. "Callen?"

"I'm here Kens," her team leader's voice came through the line and she sighed. " _Oh thank God!"_ she muttered to herself, "You have to find Deeks and get him away from the red sedan! It's rigged with explosives."

"Copy that," Sam said, "we're on our way now."

"What happened?" Callen asked, concern in his tone. "Kensi?"

Before she could answer him, two black boots appeared in front of her causing her to reluctantly look up. She'd never seen this man before, she didn't recognise him.

He offered her a hand and she took it, allowing him to help her to her feet. Her legs were shaky and she was still dizzy but she was standing.

She turned to him again, "who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Well that's not a very nice way to say thank you," he stated with an amused smirk.

She continued to glare at him, "first I want to know who you are."

"Deeks told me about you," he skimmed his eyes over her body hungrily, ignoring her. "He said you were pretty hot but this…" _He breathed_ , "This is perfection!"

Kensi pulled a distasteful face, "I'm not going to ask again."

"I told you to stay away but you didn't listen," he shook his head at her. "You should've listened."

Now she knew who he was and why he was there, " **Quin!** "

"Clever girl," he mused. "And you are?"

"NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye," she replied bitterly. "I have people already on their way here… don't try anything stupid."

"Says the one with blood running down her face and no gun," he laughed and held up her weapon. "Got it off you when you fell and hit your head on the side of that truck," he pointed to a nearby truck where blood was smeared on the bottom corner of the trailer. "You were so out of it you didn't even know I was there."

Kensi gasped, _'shit shit shit!'_

"Now I think we need to sort out a few things. Firstly I'm in charge," Quin quipped with satisfaction. "You're now my hostage."

"Think again,"

Without warning Kensi lashed out at him, taking him by surprise. He skilfully missed the punch to his chest but wasn't expecting her to immediately counter attack with a perfectly aimed kick between his legs. He went down with a painful growl and Kensi smiled triumphantly.

"That was actually really easy," she pulled out her handcuffs and went around to restrain him. "I'm a little disappointed to be honest. I thought you'd put up more of a fight."

As she leaned down to secure his wrists she watched him carefully. His body was tense and she knew he was about to strike. She braced herself and jumped out of his way when he tried to head-butt her.

"Nice try," she remarked.

She fastened one cuff to his wrist and reached for the other, forcing his arm behind his back to get the restraints on. He thrashed and managed to twist out of her grasp, pulling his hand from hers and delivering a very quick, painful blow to Kensi's stomach with his elbow.

Kensi groaned but stayed on her feet. She knew she wasn't 100% with her head pounding and her body aching. She didn't have as much strength to fight as she usually did and her adrenaline was pretty much the only thing keeping her going now, masking the worst of her pain.

Seeing his opportunity to take control Quin quickly stood up, _though still clearly uncomfortable as he swayed slightly trying to adjust his footing to lessen the agony radiating from his groin_ , and turned to face her, "That was both very clever and very stupid Agent Blye."

She eyed him intensely, "if you had any brains you'd have stayed on the ground."

"Funny," he laughed with an evil smirk, "I could've said the same thing to you."

Kensi stepped forward slowly, studying his movements. He came at her and she held position, launching a well-timed punch at his nose that resulted in a satisfying crack as the impact of her knuckles hit his face and a steady stream of blood instantly seeping down from his nostrils. He tenderly brought a hand up to inspect the damage.

"Impressive," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Not bad for a girl."

"You haven't seen anything yet," she grinned and took another swing at him which he easily dodged as he'd seen it coming.

He threw the next punch and hit her hard across the face, catching her lower jaw and her cheek. The force of the hit sent her backwards and she landed against Quin's car. Her head narrowly missed the back window, saved by her left hand taking her weight as she crashed into the vehicle with a loud echoing **_thud_!**

 _'Shit! Shit! Shit!'_ Pain started to spark up her arm and she grunted, breathing heavily. _'Can't give up. Must keep going…'_

She forced her body to move and spun around just in time to see him coming at her again, this time with a decent kick to the chest. She staggered for the briefest of seconds before straightening her frame and defensively using her good arm to stop several attempted punches to the torso. She began fighting back and landed some nasty hits, ignoring the pain in her wrist as much as possible. After all, she wasn't nicknamed ' _Bad Ass Blye'_ for no reason and she certainly wasn't going to let him win this war!

The two agents were both quite evenly matched as far as strength and speed although Kensi would've easily kicked his ass by now if she wasn't injured. Even he realised that.

In her current condition, _with a concussion and a possible fractured wrist_ , she was still putting up a hell of a fight but she was starting to feel woozy and a second blow to the face didn't help in the slightest. She held her ground, kicking and punching Quin until she finally felt him loosen his grip on her and then she was able to turn him and deliver the final blow.

With her feet now planted firmly on the ground, Kensi spun Quin so that his back was towards her and wrapped her arms firmly around his shoulders. She used every ounce of remaining energy to try and take him down.

Applying pressure and holding tight, she felt him struggling frantically, trying everything in his power to escape but Kensi had him in a head-lock and he wasn't going anywhere. She was a highly trained federal agent and he was just another bad guy who picked the wrong girl to mess with.

Kensi held Quin until his body went limp and she was sure he'd passed out. Then she carefully lowered his unconscious body to the ground and rolled him onto his stomach. She cuffed him before rolling him back, taking his gun and her gun from his reach. She was surprised and relieved that he hadn't used either weapon on her during their combat.

"Quin's down," Kensi stated quietly, hoping Callen was still listening to his coms. "Callen? Sam? You guys there?"

"Here Kens," Sam's voice came through her earwig and she smiled weakly. "We're pulling into the lot now. Where are you? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she lied. "GET DEEKS OUT!"

"Copy that," Callen replied before the line went crackly.

Now completely exhausted, Kensi sunk to her knees and leaned up against the car, her back resting on the front tyre. She tried to keep her eyes open but she was losing her way. It was so hard to stay awake…

Her last thought before giving into darkness was Deeks. _Was he going to make it out safely?_ She prayed to God that he would!

…


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

 ** _Meanwhile…_**

 _"_ _Quin, its Bates. You better not be wasting my time, call me!"_

"Bates," Deeks called to his boss as he approached cautiously. "Bates!"

Bates spun around to meet Deeks's gaze, obviously surprised to see him there. The lieutenant lifted his gun and held it directly at the detectives head. Deeks instinctively raised his hands to show he wasn't a threat.

"I just want to talk," Deeks explained calmly, daring to take another step closer. "I know you're working for Fisk. I just want to know why,"

Bates raised his eyebrows at him, "you… you think I'm working for Fisk?"

"Tell me I'm wrong,"

"You're wrong. I'm not working for Fisk!" Bates stated bitterly. "I thought you were working for Fisk. Quin told me it was you."

It was Deeks's turn to be utterly shocked, _"what?"_

"Quin told me to meet him here," the lieutenant explained, finally lowering his gun. "But he hasn't shown up yet and he isn't answering his phone!"

"Shit!" Deeks exclaimed as his mind turned over all the events that had lead up to this point. "Quin is the mole!"

"There has to be a reason he lured us here," Bates was in full alert mode now. He started surveying the area. "What's he planning?"

Just as Deeks was about to answer with a very helpful _'I don't know'_ , he saw Callen and Sam pull into to the yard and his heartbeat soared. This couldn't be good if they'd given up Fisk and rushed here…

Sam leaped out of the charger and shouted desperately at the two men, **"The car is rigged! Get out of there!"**

Deeks didn't need to be told twice. Before he knew what was happening, he had bolted across to Sam and Callen with Bates following close behind.

Once Deeks and Bates were safe, Callen reached up and turned his earpiece back on, "Kensi we got them. They're out. Where are you?"

 _Silence…_

"Kensi are you there?"

 _Nothing._

"Damn it!" He shouted in frustration. Kensi wouldn't have turned her earpiece off unless she had no other choice. That or she was unconscious and couldn't hear him. "Eric get me a trace on Kensi's cell phone… **NOW!** "

"What's going on?" Deeks looked up at the senior agents, taking in their concerned expressions. "Where's my partner?"

Sam sighed, "We don't know. She took down Quin and told us to get you out first... She said she was fine!"

"And you believed her?" Deeks started to panic. He knew very well that when Kensi said she was fine she was most definitely _not fine!_ It was her way of trying to escape the questions that would follow if she admitted there was a problem.

"No but we didn't have much choice," Sam explained gently. "We'll find her."

Callen was waiting anxiously for Eric to trace Kensi's location and when he did, it wasn't good.

"She's still in the lot but she's not moving… or at least her phone isn't moving,"

Callen gave the guys the order to split up and look for their missing team mate. They all prayed they weren't too late.

…

 _"_ _Kensi?" "Kensi?" "Kensi?"_

Kensi woke to the sound of voices in her ear shouting her name over and over again. They sounded desperate but also distant and muffled, like she was underwater.

She opened her eyes and tried to adjust them to the brightness of daylight. Her pounding headache was not helping things. Everything hurt. Her vision was still somewhat blurry.

 _'_ _Great!'_ she thought, _'just great!'_

"Kensi?" the voices kept coming, echoing in her ears. She tried to focus on them but it was difficult to concentrate. She could feel her strength to stay awake slowly collapsing and knew she was on the verge of passing out again.

Just as she was closing her eyes, giving into the urge to sleep, she heard a familiar voice come through her earpiece and she forced her eyes open. _Was she imaging it? Was she hallucinating?_

"Kensi please…."

 _No she was definitely not imagining it! It was real. It was him!_

"Kensi… Kensi please talk to me! Where are you?"

His voice was closer now, desperate for her to respond, _almost begging for her to respond._

"Kens, please if you can hear me," he shouted again, his tone was strained and frantic... "Say something…. Anything! _Please._ "

A few seconds later she heard footsteps nearby and she sensed he was close. She forced her lips to move and breathed out heavily, attempting to speak. It took a few tries before she was able to talk…

"H….Here," she choked out and immediately saw a flash of movement to her right. The footsteps momentarily paused…

"H…. Here. I'm … I'm here," she whispered again.

This time she knew he'd heard her as he started running straight towards her, feet hammering the ground heavily with every step.

When he reached her he carefully knelt beside her and lifted her chin, scanning over her body with his stormy blue eyes.

She couldn't see his face very well, her vision was still just dashes of colour and distorted figures, but she knew who it was and a relieved sigh left her lips, _he was ok._ _He was safe._

"God Kens," he breathed out sharply. "You took quite a beating."

She wanted to nod in reply but all she managed was a low painful groan. She felt his hand leave her chin to lightly brush over the bump on her forehead.

It was a nasty injury, _open and bleeding_. The bump was surrounded by a yellow and black bruise that was still forming across her temple. Blood streaked down her cheek and another bruise was coming up along her jawline.

She flinched and he winced as he withdrew his hand, "sorry."

"Qu… Quin is the m… mole," she stuttered through gritted teeth, her words slurring. "He was… going to k… kill you and B… Bates!"

Deeks sighed, "I know Kens, I know!"

"You're O…Ok?" she asked, concern etched on her pale face.

He smiled at her warmly, "yeah I'm good but you Fern… You're most definitely **not** _'fine'_."

She merely grunted at him and started to close her eyes again, feeling her body shutting down. Fighting to stay awake was exhausting!

 _She knew he was safe and that's all she cared about. She could sleep now…_

"Kensi stay with me," he reached out and stroked her un-damaged cheek. "Keep your eyes open. Keep talking to me,"

She took a shuddering breath and did as he asked, "I'm tr… Trying."

Her entire body began to tremble and her eyes remained unfocused. _She was so close to slipping away from him._ He quickly grabbed out his phone and punched in OPS number before pressing the call button and putting the device on loud speaker.

"Deeks, did you find Kensi? Is she ok?" Eric answered rapidly. He was obviously concerned about his friend. Nell, who had been typing furiously at her keyboard, paused what she was doing and came over to stand beside Eric.

Deeks hurriedly explained everything, "I found her but we need an ambulance immediately! She's beat up pretty bad."

"Ambulance is already on route," Nell replied quietly. "Should be there any second."

"Get Sam & Callen over here too," Deeks stated. " **If we don't move quickly we could lose her!"**

…


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been a while. I will be updating all my stories in the next few days. Thank you for reading.

Thank you & Kind regards

…

 **CHAPTER 3**

Callen rounded the corner in a hurry only to stop dead in his tracks.

His sudden halt caused a large cloud of dust to rise into the air and swirl around his feet, completely covering his boots and the bottom of his new jeans. He knew the material was probably going to stain but he didn't care. His eyes were on his junior agent and her partner who was doing every in his power to keep her from falling into the darkness they all knew she was fighting.

Callen shook his head and tried to take a deep breath to calm his nerves. _Yes_ he had been warned that the situation wasn't good and _yes_ he was aware that Kensi had been hurt but _God_ he hadn't expected to see her like this!

Behind him he heard Sam pull up and gasp, obviously having the same shocked reaction that he did only seconds earlier. They both momentarily stared at the scene before them, unable to move or talk or do anything.

Only a few feet away their friend was leaning up against a car, blood running down the side of her face and her whole body trembling violently.

As they watched they saw Deeks carefully shift Kensi forward so he could slip into the space behind her. The detective then gently moved her back until she was fully resting against him with her head nestled under his chin and his arms wrapped protectively around her quivering frame.

Even from a distance they could see the tremors coursing mercilessly through her body as she fought desperately to stay awake. Both men saw her wincing as she struggled to breathe and knew she was in pain.

None of them had ever seen her quite so fragile. Nor had they seen her so vulnerable. It petrified them to see her like this.

The Kensi Blye they knew and loved would never let them see her weak or hurt! She'd get right back up, pretend she was _'fine'_ and wait until she was alone before she allowed herself to deal with the situation, usually a few choice words and maybe some crying would fix it enough for her to get on with her day. _Of course pain killers never went astray either but she'd never admit to actually taking any._

But watching her now, lying still and not attempting to get up or move or fight, was a good indication that she was in a really bad way.

At the sound of their footsteps Deeks looked up and quickly waved them over.

"Guys please," Deeks cried. **"I need you here! I need help!"**

They didn't have to be told twice. Both senior agents immediately fell into step as they sprinted over to their liaison and their fallen team member…

…

"Deeks?" Kensi asked softly and tried to focus her eyes on the man holding her. "D…Deeks?"

"Yeah Kens," Deeks answered gently. He was doing his best to stay calm but on the inside he was terrified. "I'm here. I've got you."

"I'm scared," she admitted in a low voice. Her words were slurring and he felt her breathing hitch slightly.

Her lips brushed over the skin of his neck when she swallowed, trying to force her tears back but failing. She knew she couldn't hold herself back any longer, she was tired and in pain.

Her tears had been gathering in the corners of her eyes for quite a while, building more and more like a dam about to burst. Kensi had been fighting to keep them at bay but in the end she knew she couldn't stop them.

Deeks felt her tears soaking through his shirt and closed his eyes, drawing her closer to his chest and holding her tighter, "I know Kens. I'm scared too but you're going to be ok!"

"It hurts," she sobbed. If she hadn't been in such a bad way she would've instantly cursed herself for how pathetic she sounded but right now she didn't have the strength nor the will to care. "It hurts so much!"

"Where Kens?"

"My head, my wrist, my chest…"

"It's ok Kensi," Sam reached out and placed a comforting hand on her knee. "The ambulance has just pulled in, they'll give you something for the pain."

She tried to nod but only managed a low groaned instead.

"Ok baby," Deeks whispered in her ear. "Just take it easy. Don't try to move. Just focus on me ok?"

"Ok,"

 **...**

"Kensi… Kens!" Deeks cried desperately. **"KENSI!"**

As hard as she tried, Kensi couldn't open her eyes. Darkness had closed in on her fast and was now consuming her without mercy.

She vaguely remembered the paramedics arriving and taking her vitals before she was lifted from Deeks's lap and carefully placed onto a gurney but everything after that was increasingly hazy.

She must have blacked out at some point because she had no idea where she was or what was happening around her. All she knew was that Deeks was there and for that she was grateful because she was scared. She couldn't deny or fight the overwhelming sense of fear welling up within her.

For someone who always needed to be in control, this was torture! She couldn't move, she couldn't speak and she was barely hanging on.

Her body shuddered again and she silently groaned as pain shot through her ribs. The air seemed to have stopped in her throat, her heart stilled and for a few short moments a sense of peace came over her…

 **"KENSI!"**

Deeks's frantic screaming slowly faded from her ears and light was all she saw. It was warm and welcoming. A heavenly glow in a sea of never-ending darkness. She found herself moving slowly towards the light…

As she got closer she could see images forming around her, bathed in rays of light. At first they were nothing more than shimmering sparks dancing and gliding through the air but the further she walked, the clearer the pictures became.

She saw glimpses of her old schools, her friends, her mother and eventually she saw her father.

At the sight of her long lost dad, Kensi was pulled into a memory of the first time he'd taken her on a proper hunting expedition in the forest. She had been six at the time. It was an amazing weekend and she'd learnt so much from him.

Kensi smiled at the memory and glanced around. The light was fading, getting smaller and smaller into the distance. She tried to run after it but was stopped by two strong arms wrapping around her shoulders from behind, pulling her into an embrace. She spun around in a panic and her eyes grew wider as she came face to face with Donald Blye, _her father!_

"Hey baby girl," he said softly. "It's been a long time."

Kensi smiled and felt tears forming in her throat, "I… I don't understand. What… What's going on?"

"We don't have a lot of time so just let me look at you," he replied, ignoring her questions for now, and tucking a strand of her perfect brunette hair behind her ear. "You're so beautiful Kensi… You have your mother's eyes."

"What am I doing here dad?"

Again he ignored her, "did you get my journal I left you?"

"Yes," she answered. "I miss you so much!"

"I miss you too baby girl but one day we'll be together again. You just have to believe… have a little faith!"

Kensi nodded and let her tears fall.

"I'm so proud of who you've become! You're an amazing young women Special Agent Kensi Blye," Donald stated, getting a quiet chuckle from his daughter. "You have to go back now baby girl, you're friends are waiting for you."

"But I don't want to leave you," Kensi sobbed. "I don't want to lose you again!"

He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand, "you'll never lose me Kensi! I'm always with you."

"I'm so confused. None of this makes sense!"

"I know… I know it doesn't make sense," he stared into her eyes. "There is someone who needs you. Someone who loves you very much and I think it would kill him if you stayed here. It's not your time baby girl."

"Deeks?"

"Yes…" he grinned. "You two are very close, I can tell. He loves you so much, I see it in his eyes… I see it right now. He's trying to hold himself together, trying to remain strong when his whole world just crashed before him... He needs you Kensi."

"Ok," she agreed. "I… um… I think I love him dad... Is that ok?"

"I think he's a very lucky man to have you Kensi," Donald smiled and winked at his daughter. "I think he is a keeper!"

They both laughed.

Donald wrapped his strong arms around Kensi's small frame and hugged her to him, just like he had done when she was little. She felt safe and loved in his embrace, immediately filling her lungs with the scent that she missed so much, _his scent_!

His breath brushed through her hair as he took a step back from her and gave her one last look over. He was so incredibly proud of his daughter. He'd always known she was destined to do great things but she had gone above and beyond those expectations. She was stunning, smart and strong.

She was always going to be his little girl…

"I love you baby girl,"

"I love you too dad," she whispered and with that he was gone and so was the light. Suddenly she was back in her own body... Alive!

Now Kensi was very confused. _What the hell had just happened? Was that heaven? Was any of that real? Did I just dream I had a conversation with my dad? No… No I'm just hallucinating. Yeah that's it, I'm hallucinating. I hit my head and fell unconscious so my brain is just playing tricks on me…_

For what seemed like decades she just floated in uneasy darkness, unable to do anything else. She knew she was alive but as for everything else, there was just nothing. She was surrounded by eerie silence, the kind that leaves an annoying ringing in your ears... It was somewhat peaceful but also terrifying at the same time.

It was some time later when she finally felt strong enough to reconnect with her body…

As her senses started to come back she focused on what she could hear around her. There was a lot of beeping and some shuffling along with occasional voices followed by more beeping and shuffling… And then there was Deeks. He hadn't stopped talking to her, touching her, reassuring her.

With gentle strokes of his thumb on her cheek and his other hand holding hers tightly, he begged for her to wake up. His voice was cracking as the minutes pressed on and she thought she felt a tear land on her forehead but she quickly dismissed it and tried again to open her tired eyes.

…

"Kensi please," Deeks sobbed brokenly. "Please don't leave me again! I'll do anything! **ANYTHING!** Just open those gorgeous eyes and look at me… Please."

That was it. That was all he could take. He slumped over his unconscious partner's limp body and cried like he'd never cried before. Tears streamed down his face and he didn't care who saw them. His entire body shuddered with the force of his sobs but somehow he managed to continue talking to her.

"I can't…" he said quietly. "I can't live without you Kens. You're my best friend! … God I'm so sorry Kensi! If it hadn't been for that stupid plan you wouldn't be here right now and we wouldn't have had that fight. I promise I'll make it up to you! Just open your eyes Fern… Open your eyes!"

More crying…

"It's ok," Kensi's weak voice was like music to his ears and his eyes flew open! He looked up to see her eyes fluttering gently as she adjusted to the light above her hospital bed.

 **"KENSI!** " He exclaimed, the biggest grin creeping onto his pale face through his tears. "You're …. You're awake!"

Kensi lifted a hand to his cheek and smiled, "I'm awake."

"You…" His eyes fell to the bed. "You died!"

She frowned at him, startled, "I what?"

He took a deep breath and forced himself to meet her eyes, "back at the lot, _after they got you onto the gurney_ , you… you stopped breathing!"

Kensi gasped loudly and felt her own tears building in her throat.

 _'That explains the weird vision thing and the conversation with my dad…'_ She thought to herself. _'Actually that explains a lot! No wonder Deeks is upset!'_

"They got you back but they didn't think you'd wake up!" Deeks explained sadly. "You've been unconscious for twenty-four hours with a massive concussion! No one expected you to wake up!"

Kensi closed her eyes and tried to settle herself down. This was a lot to take in and her head was already spinning from her concussion, this certainly didn't help!

"Do… Do they know what happened?" Kensi asked shakily. "Why I… Why I stopped breathing?"

"You had internal bleeding and you lost a lot of blood," Deeks stated. "You were taken into emergency surgery as soon as you arrived and they managed to stop the bleeding but that wasn't the only injury you suffered in the fight with Quin."

"That explains why I feel like crap!" Kensi groaned and shifted in her bed, wincing with the discomfort that came with the movement. "I feel like I've been thrown off a ten story building!"

Deeks nodded, "yeah I don't doubt it. You've got three cracked ribs, some nasty bruises and a very badly sprained wrist. Not to mention the massive egg on your head and the side of your face all purple and blue."

"Wonderful," Kensi replied sarcastically. "So where's everyone else?"

"What, am I not good enough for you?" Deeks pretended to be hurt but he was smiling. "They're at the boatshed with Quin. I REALLY wouldn't want to be him right now!"

"Are we ok?" Kensi asked hesitantly.

The last thing she remembered clearly was the two of them sitting in Deeks's car before entering the lot, talking about the case. She'd been hurt and lost after finding out the guys had lied to her and tricked her into believing Deeks had shot an unarmed man and been fired as the result of it.

She hadn't really had a chance to fully let it all sink in yet but she didn't care anymore. All that mattered was that her partner was ok and the team was ok and they were all going to be ok.

"I am really sorry about the case Kens. I shouldn't have gone along with it," Deeks answered with regret evident in his concerned blue eyes. "If I had of known how much it was all going to affect you, I would've told Callen where to stick it!"

"You would've done that huh?" Kensi couldn't hide the humour in her voice or the grin that was creeping onto her lips. "You would have told our team leader, _an experienced senior NCIS agent_ , to **'stick it'**?"

There was a slight pause before he bowed his head in defeat, "well when you put it like that it sounds _kind of_ like suicide but…"

He breathed in deeply and forced his eyes to meet hers. He was trying to desperately weasel his way out of the situation he'd just put himself in but they both knew she wasn't buying it.

He had admitted to her once that he was slightly scared of the two older agents, simply because they could flatten him easily and after they were done beating him, no one would ever find his body. _These guys were hard core!_

Kensi was trying very hard not to laugh…

"OK… OK so maybe I wouldn't have put it quite like that," he said honestly, overpowered by fear. "BUT I would have done things differently."

"I only got hurt like that because you mean so much to me Deeks," Kensi confessed. "You are my best friend and so much more! I just didn't want to lose you."

"I wouldn't have let that happen," Deeks stated. "I would've come back to you Kens. I will always come back to you!"

"Why does that sound more like a punishment than a reward?" Kensi smirked playfully.

"Alright," Deeks chuckled, taking the teasing as a sign she was on the mend. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair, "oh I forgot to tell you… The nurses brought you some Jello while you were out in sleepy land."

Kensi's eyes lit up and she looked around for the sweet jelly treat. Her gaze fell upon the food cart by her bed and quickly found the tub of green heaven. But there was only a few small blobs of it left, a spoon still sticking out of the top. She turned back to Deeks who had a sheepish smile on his face.

"I kind of ate it," he told her bravely, knowing she couldn't physically kick his ass with hers still stuck in bed. If Kensi wasn't restricted to a hospital bed he may have thought twice about teasing her.

He saw a flash of shock and disappointment cross through her eyes as she glared at him, her narrow gaze locked in an intense death stare. _If looks could kill…_

"Deeks!" Kensi growled threateningly. "If I had my gun I'd shoot you!"

If there was one thing that you didn't mess with her about, it was her food! God knew Kensi Blye LOVED her food! Taking it away from her was like stealing a fish from a grizzly bear! It was a stupid thing to do!

And her partner should have known better by now…

"Well it's a good thing you don't have your gun then Fern," Deeks was really pushing her buttons now. "How's that bed working for you Kiki? Need another pillow?"

"If I wasn't so _damn_ sore right now," she bitterly spat at him...

"You'd throw a pillow at me?" He asked, quickly interrupting her with a cheeky smile. "Or maybe a bedpan?"

Kensi huffed and threw him yet another death stare, "you wish Deeks!"

"Of course the bedpan would be empty because no one would actually be so heartless to throw a pan full of shit at their so called partner aka best friend…." Deeks rambled on and on like he usually did.

Whilst he was talking, _mostly to himself_ , he was oblivious to the fact that Kensi was watching him with the most amused and devilish grin on her lips.

A look of determination and trouble with a capital **T** crossed her face and she turned her full attention to Deeks, "if I wasn't so sore right now I'd have you on the ground screaming in agony and holding your junk. No little mutant ninja assassins for you Deeks!"

That was enough to shut him up and make him gulp, realising the very real danger he was currently in. He was quite literally playing with fire here! The intensity of those death stares she'd been directing at him showed him that she meant business and the smug smirk now plastered on her face made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.

He winced as he ran through all of the times he had watched his partner kick bad guys in the one place you should never kick any guy and knew she was serious, best friend or not!

He stole her food for goodness sake! Who in their right mind does that?

 _Someone who wants to die…_ He thought shakily. _'Or is just very VERY stupid!'_

"Can we just talk about this for a minute before you go all kick-ass crazy Kensi on me?"

 _Ok so probably not the best choice of words there Deeks…_

Her eyebrows shot up at him, "Uh what was that?"

"I umm I just…"

"Uh huh," Kensi shook her head and looked upward, her good arm dramatically flailing towards the ceiling. "Oh my good Lord why did I get partnered with him?"

Deeks sighed, _deciding that he'd tortured her enough and he was seriously pushing his luck right now_. He watched her eyes slowly become wide again at the sight of what he had just lifted up in his hand.

"I ate your jello …" Deeks stated, handing her the desert and a spoon. "Which is why I got you a new one!"

She accepted it gratefully and they both laughed.

…

A week later and Kensi was finally released from hospital. Deeks had stayed by her side the entire time, letting her sleep when she needed to, watching movies with her, playing board games and helping her with whatever she needed.

At first she'd found it hard to move around, her body still understandably very sore from the ordeal, but as time went on she started to feel stronger and the pain began to slowly ease until it was somewhat bearable.

The guys had been to see her a few times, each visit they brought chocolate, magazines and real coffee which Deeks said was essential since the hospital coffee sucked.

Everything seemed to be ok now. They were after all a family and families stuck together through good and bad times. Kensi knew the team loved her and she loved them too.

Deeks had told her she was staying with him until she was fully back on her feet saying it would give them time to talk without nurses and doctors interrupting them constantly and people listening in on the conversation.

She hadn't argued, thinking it would probably be good to not have to be alone after such a big week. She wasn't practically looking forward to going home to an empty house.

So here they were sitting on his couch, Kensi with her legs curled up under her and her still bandaged wrist resting across the top of the lounge. Deeks was laying on the opposite end of the couch with a smile on his face as he looked at her, taking in every detail of her beautiful body.

Her bruises were still evident against her soft golden skin but they were fading. It would be another week or two before they fully disappeared though.

She'd just gotten out of the shower so her gorgeous silky hair was still slightly damp, hanging by her shoulders and down her back.

She was wearing a loose fitting, comfortable pyjama set. The shorts were blue and the top was purple with a donut pictured on the front. It suited her perfectly.

"You want anything to eat Kens?" Deeks asked kindly. "The pizza should be here soon but if you're hungry I've got chips in the cupboard."

"I'll wait for pizza," she decided with a grateful smile. "But thank you Deeks."

Suddenly her eyes were focused on him… "Thank you for everything!"

Deeks smiled and cleared his throat. "You are really important to me Kens," he began softly. "You know that don't you?"

She nodded, "I know."

"And you know you can trust me?"

Another nod from Kensi, "yes. I trust you!"

"Good," he leant in and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, being careful not to hurt her still healing temple. "I love you."

He half expected her to push him away then but to his surprise she didn't. She instead brought her good arm up to slide over his shoulders, pulling him closer to her.

"I love you too Deeks," she whispered and finally closed the small distance between them to join her lips with his in a kiss that seemed months overdue.

"Kens?"

"Yeah," she said absently a few moments later.

"We uh, I mean can we please keep that whole Callen _'Stick It'_ thing between us?"

Kensi burst out laughing, ignoring the pain that her laughter caused and wrapped her arms around Deeks.

"I guess that depends on how good you are in bed," she answered seductively, breathing out his name into his ear passionately. "Marty!"

That one word, _his first name_ , spoken by the women he truly loved with all of his heart sent sparks firing throughout his body. He grinned like an idiot and couldn't take his eyes off of his partner as she delicately pressed a kiss to his neck, curling her body into him carefully as not to put pressure on her bruised ribs or the incision site on her stomach.

And for the first time in his entire life Marty Deeks was absolutely speechless!

…

Hey everyone,

I hope you like this chapter/story. I love reading your reviews and thank you all for your support!

If you guys want me to add anything please let me know. I am finished it for now but may add stuff occasionally. Hope you like it.

Kind regards


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